Compasses, Running & Snakes Down Under

Running geeks geek out at the 7th World Rogaining Championships

During our 15-hour flight from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia, while I dozed, my teammate, Jason Poole, watched the film, "Wordplay." When I woke, Jason described the crossword puzzle documentary to me. "It is kind of a nerdy subculture," he explained, "but you could certainly say the same about rogaining." He was, no doubt, correct: rogaining — the sport of 24-hour orienteering — is, indeed, a nerdy athletic pursuit. We were in a position to know, given that we were en route to the Seventh World Rogaining Championships. You could say we were embracing our inner running geeks.

‘Strine for "Runner Dork"

Rogaining and crossword puzzles have a lot in common, it seems. First, the 30-year-old sport gets its name from the composite of the first names of its three Victoria, Australia, founders: ROd, GAIl, and NEil. It is also said to be an acronym, standing for Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance and having nothing whatsoever to do with hair growth. To seal up the cruciverbalist connection, shortly after Jason and I boarded the coach that took us from the Sydney International Terminal to the Warrumbungle National Park, near Coonabarabran in New South Wales, we were given crossword puzzles, made especially for the "7WRC" by Bob Reddick, the Washington State rogaining veteran who directed the first U.S. rogaine in 1989.

Reddick’s questions and answers offered insight into the sport and the collection of competitors who had traveled from 14 different countries to participate in the biannual Championships. There were questions about the flags and country names for participants, including, among others, Finland, South Africa, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Japan, Sweden, and Papua New Guinea. There were questions of important rogaining provisions and gear, including a watch, whistle, food, compass — which, for Australia, had us using specially calibrated Southern Hemisphere compasses from Suunto — headlamp, and map; and navigation terms such as bearing, contours, declination, attack point, spur, orient, and "resection," a process of backing into a control point from an intersection bearing. And then there was a mix of amusing Aussie or "’Strine" terms to add local flavor: "tinny" (a can of beer), "good on ‘ya," "sheila," and "dunny" (an outhouse).

Warming Up in the Warrumbungles

Seven hours after getting our crossword puzzles, we had completed the ride west, past the Blue Mountains and into the Australian outback: kangaroo, koala, wombat, and emu country. Our destination: the Warrumbungle National Park, known as one of the best stargazing venues in the world, thanks to the remote location that delivers dark and almost constantly cloudless skies. Approximately 350 teams — mostly pairs, but with some as large as five, the maximum allowable — made for the biggest-ever gathering of rogainers. We all camped out near the "hash house," a central location where food is served throughout the day for those teams that decide to return to camp during the 24-hour event. The clock was set to begin at noon the next day.